Which of your rival school's wrestlers do you hate least, or even (gasp) admire?

[Interviewed_at_Weehawken]

Which of your rival school's wrestlers do you hate least, or even (gasp) admire?

[ionel]

Iowa:  Joe Kelly

[RicoSwaff]

1 hour ago, ionel said:

Iowa:  Joe Kelly

He’s a great kid! 
 

Last year, I was a pretty big fan of the way Mason Parris competed. The older I get, the more I really just kind of respect and like them all as long as they aren’t dbags and if they give the vibe that they wrestle to win opposed to wrestle not to lose with their styles.

[RicoSwaff]

Not a rival school to any college in my region that I know of (Iowa), but I am a big fan of the Hidlay brothers out of NC State, Hayden and Trent… love the way they compete… 

 

Also a fan of Andrew Alirez out of Northern Colorado. I think it’s so cool that he potentially sparked something special in his own home state! Love to see it!

[Gus]

As an SDSU fan I respected Franek & Caliendo at NDSU last year. I think my Jackrabbits have a great group of young men lead by Clay Carlson and Tanner Sloan that would be hard for anyone to root against.

Some examples of current guys that are hard to cheer against because of the way that they compete (fun style, point scoring, etc) and carry themselves (humble, gracious, etc) are: Keegan O'Toole, David Carr, Vito, Sam Latona, Nic Bouzakis, Andrew Alirez, Real Woods, Brock Hardy, Caleb Henson, Shayne Van Ness, Sammy Sasso, Levi Haines, Bryce Andonian, Dean Hamiti, Shane Griffith, Mekhi Lewis, Parker Keckeisen, Bernie Truax, Dustin Plott, Aaron Brooks, Trent Hidlay, Rocky Elam, Wyatt Hendrickson and a bunch of others that I am probably missing.

[nhs67]

Sammy Sasso.

[Warm Up Champ]

58 minutes ago, Gus said:

As an SDSU fan I respected Franek & Caliendo at NDSU last year. I think my Jackrabbits have a great group of young men lead by Clay Carlson and Tanner Sloan that would be hard for anyone to root against.

Some examples of current guys that are hard to cheer against because of the way that they compete (fun style, point scoring, etc) and carry themselves (humble, gracious, etc) are: Keegan O'Toole, David Carr, Vito, Sam Latona, Nic Bouzakis, Andrew Alirez, Real Woods, Brock Hardy, Caleb Henson, Shayne Van Ness, Sammy Sasso, Levi Haines, Bryce Andonian, Dean Hamiti, Shane Griffith, Mekhi Lewis, Parker Keckeisen, Bernie Truax, Dustin Plott, Aaron Brooks, Trent Hidlay, Rocky Elam, Wyatt Hendrickson and a bunch of others that I am probably missing.

Nice list.  Not sure I would include Real Woods on there though.

[Gus]

33 minutes ago, Warm Up Champ said:

Nice list.  Not sure I would include Real Woods on there though.

I'm not going to hold one dust up with Swiderski - who tries to fight everyone he wrestles - against him. The rest of his career he has been very humble and gracious and is always fun to watch. 

[PortaJohn]

Pretty much all of them.  Certain guys have styles that aren't my cup of tea in terms of entertainment but Jesus these young lads are all studs.  Wrestling  D1 is admirable and I applaud them all

Edited September 14, 2023 by PortaJohn

[RicoSwaff]

5 hours ago, Gus said:

As an SDSU fan I respected Franek & Caliendo at NDSU last year. I think my Jackrabbits have a great group of young men lead by Clay Carlson and Tanner Sloan that would be hard for anyone to root against.

Some examples of current guys that are hard to cheer against because of the way that they compete (fun style, point scoring, etc) and carry themselves (humble, gracious, etc) are: Keegan O'Toole, David Carr, Vito, Sam Latona, Nic Bouzakis, Andrew Alirez, Real Woods, Brock Hardy, Caleb Henson, Shayne Van Ness, Sammy Sasso, Levi Haines, Bryce Andonian, Dean Hamiti, Shane Griffith, Mekhi Lewis, Parker Keckeisen, Bernie Truax, Dustin Plott, Aaron Brooks, Trent Hidlay, Rocky Elam, Wyatt Hendrickson and a bunch of others that I am probably missing.

Have known Tanner Sloan since he was in Kindergarten (he and my bro had an “intense” rivalry from K-6th grade and met for the first of many times in the semis at state in Kindergarten…. He was one of my favorite guys in that class on and off the mat… fun wrestling style and nicest kid in the world off the mat. Great at football as well as 4H in his day as well! Easily one of my fave current NCAA wrestlers.

In 2019 I interviewed probably 300 or so college/HS kids at random events that I covered for an old publication called The Predicament that I contributed for from 2007-2019… Out of everyone I’ve ever interviewed, Rocky Elam stands out as one of the most well-spoken, polite and appreciative wrestlers I’ve ever encountered. Have been a fan of his since! 

[Ban Basketball]

I was always a silent Derek St. John fan.

[Ragu]

Darian Cruz

[Idaho]

Ryan Milhoff.... one of the first guys I read about who opened up about battling anxiety and depression from the pressure of wrestling. I admire him for that... takes some guts to show some transparency and vulnerability in this sport. 

[Jason Bryant]

Everyone at George Mason … since they actually have wrestling. The rest of that school’s teams can suck it. LOL

[Plasmodium]

19 hours ago, Warm Up Champ said:

Nice list.  Not sure I would include Real Woods on there though.

I see Aaron Brooks as extremely divisive.

[Le duke]

Sasso, Kemerer, Hayden Hidlay, Parris.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ionel]

1 hour ago, Plasmodium said:

I see Aaron Brooks as extremely divisive.

Are you saying you admire divisive? 

[Plasmodium]

2 minutes ago, ionel said:

Are you saying you admire divisive? 

There are pros and cons.

[RandolphTJones]

Previous wrestlers I used to secretly root for besides when they were whopping on OSU: Nickal & Kemmerer

Current: Kerkvliet

[Konquest]

Fan of Nebraska and UNI.  I hope fans of rival teams enjoy Brock Hardy, Ridge Lovett, Lenny Pinto, Silas Allred, and Parker Keckeisen.

B1G and Big12 wrestlers who I don't hate and might admire: Keegan O'Toole, David Carr, Bernie Truax, DJ Hamiti, Mitchell Mesenbrink, Matt Ramos, Wyatt Hendrickson, Tanner Cook, Andrew Alirez.

All these guys are "Must Watch".  Probably Hendrickson is my favorite to watch if I had to pick one.

Edited September 15, 2023 by Konquest

[ionel]

32 minutes ago, Konquest said:

 I hope fans of rival teams enjoy ... Lenny Pinto, 

How can you not enjoy Pinto ... kid's on fire.   

[Gantry]

My old man had a Pinto in the 70s, it did indeed catch on fire.  Was arson though

[Interviewed_at_Weehawken]

On 9/14/2023 at 1:03 PM, Warm Up Champ said:

Nice list.  Not sure I would include Real Woods on there though.

I think too much was made about Woods  reacting to Swiderskis chipiness and then getting his first Carver win.

The rest of the season showed that Woods was a pretty good sport and Swiderski an agitator. 
 

Brock Hardy’s brother reported on another forum that Woods sought out Hardy after the meet and had a brief and positive conversation with him… and this was after Iowa had told their team to not shake hands after a contentious dual, if I recall. 
 

Also look at NCAA finals: in the midst of the most important match of his life, Woods is joking around with Alirez during the nearly 10 minute tape review. 

[WildTurk]

I really like Keegan O'Toole.  He made Carr look pedestrian. 

As far as Rivals go I like Haines at PSU.  He explodes up as soon as he gets in on a shot.  That "wrestle in a phone booth" style is hard to defend and FUN to watch.   I did thoroughly enjoy watching O'Connor big brother him in the finals however. 

[steamboat_charlie]

I always wanted to hate Retherford but couldn't bring myself to do it.  He was just a complete hammer and did everything with class.